Hillary Clinton is sending two senior US officials for talks in Syria, in a sign of thawing relations between the countries.

After years of tension and George W Bush's portrayal of Syria as a rogue state and sponsor of terrorism, the new US secretary of state said that Jeffrey Feltman, acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, and Dan Shapiro of the White House's National Security Council, would visit the Syrian capital.

Both officials are accompanying Mrs Clinton on a visit to the region and were due to fly on to Damascus.

Speaking on her maiden visit to Israel as America's top diplomat, Mrs Clinton said: "We have no way to predict what the future with our relations concerning Syria might be.

"We don't engage in discussions for the sake of having a conversation. There has to be a purpose to them, there has to be some perceived benefit accruing to the United States and our allies."

A US-Syrian rapprochement could help clear the way for Israel and Syria to restart the indirect peace talks they held under Turkish mediation last year but which were halted after Israel's military offensive in Gaza. Among other issues, the two countries dispute ownership of the Golan Heights.

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Though hopes of instant progress are not high, Mrs Clinton's announcement reflected an emerging consensus in Washington that a peace deal between Israel and Syria remains a stronger prospect than a permanent agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

The likelihood of a Right-wing coalition led by Benjamin Netanyahu taking over soon in Israel is one more obstacle on the road to a deal that has eluded successive US presidents. With the occupied territories divided between the moderate Fatah faction and militant Hamas group, the chances of reaching a "two-state" solution in the next few years have looked poor.

A Syrian deal, however, has attractions for all sides, according to Martin Indyk, a US ambassador to Israel under President Bill Clinton.

"You push on one door in the Middle East and another door opens," he said.

"You push on the Palestinian door and the Syrian door may well open. A deal would have all sorts of major advantages, including for the Palestinian Authority, who would welcome Syrian engagement with Israel, because it would put pressure on Hamas, and provide cover for their own engagement with Israel."

Mrs Clinton said that once a new government is formed in Israel, the Israeli-Syrian issue would be firmly on the Obama administration's agenda.

The overtures to Syria follow Mr Obama's pledge to engage all Middle Eastern countries, including Syria and Iran.

During meetings in Jerusalem, Mrs Clinton reasserted Mr Obama's commitment to working towards a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

She said that establishing a Palestinian state was not only in the best interests of Israel but was an "inescapable" reality.